Posts tagged ‘cska’

One of those games we got a chance to see for ourselves. A great, open game played at an incredible pace. Boris Mikhaylov’s troops from Novokuznetsk were not afraid to get into a run and gun contest with the one of the KHL’s powerhouses, Ak Bars Kazan. It was also our first chance to see the 16-year old Maxim Kitsyn, the youngest player in the KHL. He’s #91 (sporting a full face shield) on the Metallurg squad.

This week’s must see game features currently the top 2 teams in the KHL. These are also two hottest teams in the league coming into the game on long winning streaks. Atlant won 6 straight while Avangard is on a 7-game winning streak (which coincidentally or not started right after they fired their coach… who said Jaromir Jagr can’t be a player coach?). The game also features the current points leader in the entire league, Sergei Mozyakin of Atlant and the current top goal scorer, Jaromir Jagr (10). New York Rangers prospect Alexei Cherepanov is coming into the match on his own streak having scored goals in 5 straight games and having scored points in 7 straight. If all of this weren’t enough the game also features two former NHL goalies, John Graham of Ak Bars and Ray Emery of Atlant. Both are playing very well so far sporting a .930 save percentage. We just had to check this one out for ourselves and it didn’t disappoint.

Magnitka’s first game after the Victoria Cup game vs. the New York Rangers turned into quite an ill tempered affair. Fans of hockey fisticuffs might want to check this one out. Who says Russians don’t fight?

Another chance to see the 16-year old Maxim Kitsyn, this time in a game vs. last season’s Russian Superliga champs, Salavat. For Salavat this is the last KHL game before they make their debut in the brand new European Champions League.

Here’s another chance to see the Russian Super League leaders Salavat Yulayev Ufa in action, this time against CSKA Moscow.

We have pretty much sung all the praises we could muster for Salavat in some of our previous RSL Game of the Week posts. They have been the dominant team all season long. It is to be expected considering all the money oil giant Bashneft have invested into what is the most offensively gifted line-up in the RSL (the Ufa club’s 3rd and 4th line consists of players who were leaders of their former teams) and that their ultimate goal for this season is to win the Russian championship.

This should be yet another great game. The CSKA Ice Palace, home of the Russian Red Army team, as CSKA is known in the West, is absolutely packed with fans for the visit of the league leaders and the atmosphere is rocking.

You can watch the game in the streaming player or download the file to your computer by clicking the “Open Containing Folder” link below the player, right clicking the file and selecting the “download” option.

Another great game from the Russian Super League. Is this a nice stretch in the RSL schedule or what?! Last year’s champions’ next task after battling it out with Ak Bars Kazan, a team they faced in last year’s finals, is to take on the Central Sports Club of Army that is also flying high under the leadership of former NHLer, hard hitting Oleg Saprykin. Mr. Saprykin has also rediscovered his scoring touch aside from sticking his nose into every possible altercation this side of the Atlantic. This promises to be a real battle.

You can watch the game in the streaming player or download the file to your computer by clicking the “Open Containing Folder” link below the player, right clicking the file and selecting the “download” option.

For our second RSL Game of the Week we have chosen a clash between one of the most famous Russian clubs, Central Sports Club of Army (CSKA) Moscow (known better in North America as the Red Army Club) and one of the perennial leaders of Russian and European hockey in the new era, the oil rich Avangard Omsk. CSKA is back to being a force in Russian hockey and in this game they’re visiting one of the best modern hockey arenas in Russia in Omsk.

The New York Rangers fans might have a special interest in this game as they would get an opportunity to check out how one of their top prospects, Alexei Cherepanov, is doing. Watch for # 7 on Avangard. Other notable players for Avangard are #8 Yevgeniy Kurbatov, one of the best defensemen in the recent World Junior Championships, who is still undrafted; #33 Anton Babchuk, one of the Russian players who have recently returned home from the NHL (Carolina Hurricanes); same goes for #15 Alexander Svitov (Columbus Blue Jackets); #19 is another talented Russian junior Anton Kuryanov; also in this game is #39 Pavel Rosa who played a few games in the NHL for the Los Angelese Kings.

CSKA Moscow features #7 Canadian defenseman James Pollock who has played 9 NHL games with St.Louis, but spent most of his career in the AHL; #28 talented offensive defenseman Denis Kulyash (whose rights belong to the Nashville Predators); #44 Yevgeniy Artyukhin who spent a full season in the NHL with the the Tampa Bay Lighnting; #24 Pyotr Schastlivy, one of the top RSL scorers in recent years; #71 Ladislav Kohn who had 4 very decent seasons in the NHL with the St.Louis Blues and finally #91 Oleg Saprykin, another NHL returnee who played for the Calgary Flames and the Phoenix Coyotes.

Note: We have discovered that the end of this game got cut off during our original upload. The issue has been fixed and the game is now available in its entirety.

You can watch the game in the streaming player or download the file to your computer by clicking the “Open Containing Folder” link below the player, right clicking the file and selecting the “download” option.